Carmel ranked best place to live by Money Magazine

CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) - Carmel, Ind. topped Money Magazine’s list of "100 Best Places to Live in America" with the number one spot.

The list highlights small cities across the country with populations of 50,000-300,000. The list looks for places with economic strength, quality health care, low crime, great schools, and fun things to do.

PHOTOS | Take a look at sites around Carmel.

Money Magazine’s list was released Friday. This year, Carmel topped the list as the number one place to live. When Money last ranked small cities in 2010, Carmel was ranked number 14.

The article boasts Carmel’s strong economy, low taxes, excellent schools, affordable homes, new Palladium, and scenic bike paths.

"We have to work so much harder here in the Midwest, where it's flat, where we don't have any rivers or oceans or mountains to speak of than places on the coast," says Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard. "We have to focus on the built environment and what we do to make this a great place to be."

Money’s editor says, “Carmel's business district has the second-largest concentration of office workers in Indiana and an unemployment rate that's a little more than half the national average…. Carmel also has excellent schools, a big sports and recreation center, roundabouts to keep traffic flowing, wide bike lanes, and an off-street bike path with a direct route through the center of town. All that, plus a variety of housing options ranging from older homes to new subdivisions, and you have an irresistible draw for families."

Mayor Brainard says since he's been in office he had a vision for Carmel and he strived to make it the best place to live.

"This is an effort of lots of people, all our city employees, the business community all coming together to work hard for a long period of time to create some real success," says Mayor Brainard.

Behind Carmel, McKinney, Texas was ranked number two.

Fishers, Ind. was ranked number 12 this year. You can check out the full list here .